The first piece of Barzak fiction I read was "A Mad Tea Party" in LCRW (listed on his website as his first story publication, which means I've been following his career from the start), and I knew I wanted to remember his name. He's published wide and far since then, and it's been very cool to chart his rising career. I think one of my favorite stories of his is "The Other Angelas," which appeared in Pindeldyboz, and which may be one of the most memorable short stories I've read, period.

The man's also a whipcrack emcee every year for the Ratbastards Karaoke Bonanza at WisCon, which is where I met him in person for the first time. He treated me like any other person at the con, and tried, unsuccessfully, to get me out on the dance floor (although, I have to mention that it's almost impossible to get me to dance, especially if I've got less than four or five drinks in me). A gracious guy in addition to being a killer writer.

So if you're out and about today, think about dropping twelve dollars for One for Sorrow*. You're guaranteed a beautifully-written novel, and you'll be helping out a fabulously nice guy. I'm not sure when it'll show in Singapore, but I'll certainly be nabbing a copy for myself.

*If you buy the novel through this BookSense link, not only do you support your local independent bookstore, but as an affiliate, I get something like a dime. Or something.